World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina Sunday in the women’s final at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.
It is the first BNP Paribas Open singles title for Sabalenka, the 27-year-old from Belarus who lost to Rybakina in the 2023 women’s final at Indian Wells, 7-6, 6-4. Sabalenka also lost last year’s BNP Paribas Open final to Mirra Andreeva, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
“Thank God I got this trophy,” Sabalenka told the crowd at the podium after the match. “What a week: getting a puppy, getting engaged and winning a title. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”
The third-set tiebreaker was a thriller, with Sabalenka saving a match point on Rybakina’s serve, hitting a blistering return on a 121 mph serve before nailing a cross-court backhand winner to even things at 6-6. She clinched the match by winning the next two points, the final one on her serve after Rybakina’s return went long.
“It was a very difficult match,” Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, told the crowd afterward. “Congratulations to Aryna and her team for all the achievements, and this final battle.”
Sabalenka is now 17-1 this year, with her only loss coming to Rybakina in the Australian Open final, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The BNP Paribas Open was Sabalenka’s first tournament since the Australian Open.
In the men’s final, No. 11 seed Daniil Medvedev was set to take on second-seeded Jannik Sinner on Sunday afternoon. Medvedev ended Carlos Alcaraz’s 16-match winning streak on Saturday, beating the world’s No. 1 player, 6-3, 7-6.
“I gotta say, I have never seen, to be honest, Daniil playing like this,” Alcaraz said after the match. “He deserves the win completely today. He deserves completely to get through and play a final here. All I can say is just congratulations to him.”
The 30-year-old Medvedev, a former No. 1-ranked player himself, complimented Alcaraz — who won the singles title at Indian Wells in 2023 and 2024 — in an on-court interview after the match.
“Carlos is an outstanding player, it’s very tough to play against him and I lost to him many times,” Medvedev said. “And to be honest, probably I will play many more times against him and lose many more.”
Earlier Saturday, Sinner beat No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, 6-2, 6-4. Sinner and Medvedev will each be bidding for their first title in the California desert.
“He’s back to a very, very high level,” Sinner said of Medvedev. “Very big serve, and he’s returning very well.”
The singles winners each receive $1,511,380 and the runner-up $612,340, with the payout the same for the men and women.